Wal Mart good deals on tackle?

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Bad Tuna
I'll try this topic nobody should be offended by. I think Wal Mart has some good deals on warmwater tackle where high quality isn't necessary. Bobbers, bluegill hooks, weights, jigs, baits. I like it, but I know some hate the store, thinking it is bad for small business. What do you think?
 
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Combat Chuck
Ive noticed this too. The really basic stuff is good. I dont think my local shop will go broke if I buy some Wal Mart lead. The stuff that matters I tend to buy someplace else.
 
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chris61182
What do I think? In general the only thing I'll buy there is the blue fox flash spinners in the multi-pack, and that's just because Bimart doesn't stock the multi-pack. Everything else I'll buy at the local Bimart, because the price difference is usually non-existent or negligible.
 
brandon4455
brandon4455
ill agree with chris for the most part, i get stuff at wal mart that bi mart dosen't have in stock.
 
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koboabe
luckily the Portland area walmart is too far to really make it worth the savings (after time and gas) so I am stuck with my local options.
so far they have been pretty good to me.
 
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Modest_Man
I live walking distance from WalMart and won't set foot in the store unless I forget an ingredient for dinner that night...I don't buy much fishing gear but when I do it's usually from BiMart, Fisherman's, Cabela's, or used through Craigslist.
 
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koboabe
If you are in the PDX area dont forget about BC angling post, R&B (Jacks Tackle) shop and Ollie and Damon's
great folks and great products
 
GungasUncle
GungasUncle
Wal Mart is the only local retailer of the Trout Magnet lures I like, and they do often have some great deals on warm water gear. I also picked up a Shakespeare graphite panfish pole there for $7. It wasn't until after I bought the one from Wal Mart that I saw that Fisherman's started carrying such simple gear.

Wal Mart also has some good deals on Rapala lures from time to time, and decent entry level rods & reels. The one in Cornelius actually has some Fenwick rods paired up with Abu Garcia reels they sell for about $50.

I do not view Wal Mart as the evil villian that many folks like to make them out to be - but then again, I think that if a business can't be competitive, large or small, then going out of business is the price they'll pay. Be competitive or die. If you can't offer Wal-Mart prices, you better offer much better service, and knowledge, or offer something the people want that they can't get at the big box place in order to draw in the dollars.
 
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capblack
first of all, for those that think walmart is bad, imagine the amount of people that would be out of jobs if it wasn't for them. that being said, im not really impressed with their variety of fishing tackle, though if i see something i like, im not opposed to buying it. bi mart is a lot closer, and i hate dealing with the idiots at wally world. Brian
 
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Modest_Man
capblack said:
first of all, for those that think walmart is bad, imagine the amount of people that would be out of jobs if it wasn't for them. that being said, im not really impressed with their variety of fishing tackle, though if i see something i like, im not opposed to buying it. bi mart is a lot closer, and i hate dealing with the idiots at wally world. Brian

Think of all the people that already are out of jobs because WalMart came to town. ;) Jobs that may have sold American made products and not cheap Chinese plastic disposable crap that is filling up all our land fills? /end WalMart rant.
 
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skunk
Walmarts fine, for some stuff. They aren't the bad guys, its the looser american I gotta have it all mentality that's to blame.
 
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capblack
im sure walmart employs more people than they put out of work, and i can also guarantee you not everything they sell is crap. you just need to know what your buying. some of the stuff they sell like much of the fishing stuff, is the exact same thing that people buy elsewhere for twice the money. you yourself said you never shop their, so how do you know so much about the stuff they sell? but lets not make this thread another worthless argument.
 
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colbypearson
i think pretty much everything sold at wal-mart here is trash as far as fishing goes.... sure they sell gamakatsu hooks and a few good line brands (maxima) as far as some random plastics that have a time and place but other than that all i can say is buy from locally owned businesses! or the ones that dont hire dopey fishing employee's! I like supporting local businesses and mom and pop type tackle shops even if it is a little more expensive backlash* tackle, black bird and even steelhead/salmon spots like pats hand tied flies are the type places i like... lots of them have great history, great people and stories and the lowdown on local fishing.
 
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Modest_Man
I've shopped at WalMart, bought a blender there that I had to return the second time I used it since it broke. :( I bought some garlic bread there once, it was actually really tasty. As far as fishing stuff, I bought some line there and a Plano container because I was heading out a 4am the next morning and like I said, it's walking distance from my place and open 24/7.

I wasn't anti WalMart actually until I moved in next door to one, I thought it would be awesome to have it close and we could shop there etc and save money. Tried it for a couple weeks and their perishable foods spoiled 1-2 days after we bought them, don't go near their produce, bread, or dairy (spoils and molds super fast). Things that we needed for our new place (like the blender) broke frequently. Made me realize really fast how you can save money in the long run by buying a quality made product instead of a cheap throw-away.

I agree that the disposable American consumer is much to blame!
 
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colbypearson
Modest_Man said:
I've shopped at WalMart, bought a blender there that I had to return the second time I used it since it broke. :( I bought some garlic bread there once, it was actually really tasty. As far as fishing stuff, I bought some line there and a Plano container because I was heading out a 4am the next morning and like I said, it's walking distance from my place and open 24/7.

I wasn't anti WalMart actually until I moved in next door to one, I thought it would be awesome to have it close and we could shop there etc and save money. Tried it for a couple weeks and their perishable foods spoiled 1-2 days after we bought them, don't go near their produce, bread, or dairy (spoils and molds super fast). Things that we needed for our new place (like the blender) broke frequently. Made me realize really fast how you can save money in the long run by buying a quality made product instead of a cheap throw-away.

I agree that the disposable American consumer is much to blame!

you can't really blame that on the corporation that you got some bum blenders and some bad food haha
 
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capblack
Modest_Man said:
I've shopped at WalMart, bought a blender there that I had to return the second time I used it since it broke. :( I bought some garlic bread there once, it was actually really tasty. As far as fishing stuff, I bought some line there and a Plano container because I was heading out a 4am the next morning and like I said, it's walking distance from my place and open 24/7.

I wasn't anti WalMart actually until I moved in next door to one, I thought it would be awesome to have it close and we could shop there etc and save money. Tried it for a couple weeks and their perishable foods spoiled 1-2 days after we bought them, don't go near their produce, bread, or dairy (spoils and molds super fast). Things that we needed for our new place (like the blender) broke frequently. Made me realize really fast how you can save money in the long run by buying a quality made product instead of a cheap throw-away.

I agree that the disposable American consumer is much to blame!

i disagree, we buy the majority of our food there and we havent had any issues with spoiling, of course we have 4 kids, so maybe our food doesn't have a chance to spoil. as far as plastic, chinese, crap whatever you want to call it. i hate to break it to ya, but for the most part, they dont make anything the way they used to. it goes a lot further than walmart. what it comes down to, is you get what you pay for. we dont go to walmart looking for appliances, or furniture, or anything of that nature, i think your better off getting quality stuff for a good price at a garage sale or a second hand store, but walmart is just another way for people who are trying to, or are being forced to tighten their belts, to stretch our dollars in certain areas.
 
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Bad Tuna
So they offer a good product and a cheap product. Who's fault is it if you buy the cheap product? They sell what people want, if they didn't, they wouldn't be in business. They had a good selection of walleye bottom walkers for a buck. Green power eggs that bimart didn't carry and cheap jigs and spinner baits.
 
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Modest_Man
capblack said:
i disagree, we buy the majority of our food there and we havent had any issues with spoiling, of course we have 4 kids, so maybe our food doesn't have a chance to spoil. as far as plastic, chinese, crap whatever you want to call it. i hate to break it to ya, but for the most part, they dont make anything the way they used to. it goes a lot further than walmart. what it comes down to, is you get what you pay for. we dont go to walmart looking for appliances, or furniture, or anything of that nature, i think your better off getting quality stuff for a good price at a garage sale or a second hand store, but walmart is just another way for people who are trying to, or are being forced to tighten their belts, to stretch our dollars in certain areas.

I agree with that! I buy second hand stuff all the time. Though we've gotten off topic. Back to WalMart fishing gear...
 
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Modest_Man
Bad Tuna said:
So they offer a good product and a cheap product. Who's fault is it if you buy the cheap product? They sell what people want, if they didn't, they wouldn't be in business. They had a good selection of walleye bottom walkers for a buck. Green power eggs that bimart didn't carry and cheap jigs and spinner baits.

Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me! I bought WalMart cheap and got bit, not again though.
 
GungasUncle
GungasUncle
every time this comes up on the boards I frequent, I ask the people the same thing:

Do you shop at Target, Lowes, Home Depot, Fred Meyer, K-Mart, Sears, and other large retailers? Have you ever looked at what's on their shelves? It's the same things Wal Mart sells. It's not all made in China, but China is the world's largest, fastest growing manufacturing economy. It's not like the change happend over-night. The out-sourcing of manufacturing jobs has been going on for decades. It got going pretty well in the 1970's, and has steadily increased. It's not going to stop any time soon. America is no longer driven by making things - we export ideas now. You can't live, day to day, and not use something that was made in part or in whole, overseas. Just can't. You can't even find a 100% American Made vehicle anymore. Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors build all or part of their vehicles outside the US. It's a crap shoot where your car was put together, you've got to read the VIN or look at the door sticker to know where it was "built" - and even then, it doesn't mean that the parts that were bolted together in XXX were made there, or here. Some of it is made in China, some in Mexico, some here, some in Canada, some in Taiwan...

Wal Mart sells exactly the items their customers want. If you demand higher quality merchandise, let them know. Let them know you'll pay more for it too. But the venom that gets directed at this one single company is amazing - they sell the SAME thing that other big box retailers do - but I have yet to hear or read anyone bitching about Target, or Fred Meyer. I don't have a vested interest in Wal Mart - other than being able to save some of the cash I work my ass off to earn by buying some things there, instead of spending the extra coin at Freddies or Target or K Mart. I've got family that works for Target, my wife worked for Ross before having our son. Wal Mart sells the same things they sell - sometimes for less, sometimes for more. A smart person is going to try to get the most out of their dollar, especially given the continued devaluation of the US dollar!

Is a lot of the merchandise Wal Mart sells crap? Yup. But it's equally crappy when the price tag has a red bulls eye on it, or a FM sticker (and FM isn't even local anymore, for those who don't know it's owned by Kroeger, which is from back east).

It's great to support local businesses when I can - but I've got a duty to myself and my family to stretch each dollar I spend on what we need as far as it can go, if that means shopping at Wal Mart, Target, Winco, Albertsons, Ross, or wherever, that's what we do. You just have to be smart about what you're buying, how you take care of it, etc.

Food spoiling in a couple days after you get it? Well, that could've been for a number of factors. you could've bought older produce. Your home could be kept warmer than usual, or more humid. You could've just had bad luck. It happens to all of us. I get picky about the produce I buy, and I put it in the fridge as soon as we get it home to keep it good as long as possible. Some brands of bread need put in the fridge too, to keep spoilage down. Better foods, not loaded with chemical preservatives, will spoil quicker than the cheap garbage that is half chemicals. Pick your poison & read labels is the best advice I can give there. I've had bread from Safeway and Albertsons mold within a couple days of getting it - I should've read the dates a bit closer I guess, and part of it was just what I bought (the good sourdough stuff, or multigrain artisan breads) that happened to be more prone to spoilage.

I can't rail against stores like Wal Mart, when everyone else is hawking the same stuff. Wal Mart is the American success story. They went from a mom & pop shop, to the world's largest retailer. That's what pisses some folks off - they're "too successful" - to the point where they can go to a vendor and say "we want this item, for this price, if you can't fill our needs, we'll take our business elsewhere." and get what they want. That's exactly what other companies strive to be - and not many can do. I can name a few others that can - Intel, Microsoft, Advanced Micro Devices. American Success stories each of them - and their competitors can do little more than complain while they try to compete.

The shops that Wal Mart allegedly puts out of business are not shops that are paying their people living wages, they're paying minimum wage just like Wal Mart starts their people off at. They're not shops giving medical, dental, and vision benefits. They're also shops that have been circling the drain anyway, some slowly, some quickly. Healthy businesses, that have something to offer that the big stores don't, who have owners and managers that know how to adapt and compete, will stay in business and thrive. Those that don't - won't, and Wal Mart will probably be happy to have their employees in the new store. Target, K Mart, Fred Meyer, Lowes, and Home Depot are the same way. I know there was a lot of fear mongering that Home Depot was going to drive Parr Lumber out of business when they started moving in to this area - and it hasn't happened. Parr is doing great. Parr offers something that the others can't or wont. People vote with their wallets. Everyone has a right to shop where they want, and buy what they want. I'd love to buy quality, well built American products, and do when I can afford them - but American Made doesn't automatically mean good quality anymore, but it usually does mean a 20-50% (or more) mark up.
 
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